What to do about PhD advisor abusing students at my school?

March 22, 2023 9:40 PM

When I moved in with a roommate at the university I'm attending, I learned that she was working under an advisor who was abusive and doing things like holding her status as an international student over her head in order to get the work he wanted out of her. She is a PhD student, came to the US for this program. At my encouraging, she went to the university and got out from under that advisor and under a different advisor doing different work. But the university never did more than that. I am bothered by this. What should I do?

I'm meddling, I know I'm meddling. I'm not sure if I'll take this further. I'll ask my friend/former roommate for her consent to take action once I know what the options are and decide if I should proceed.

It was over a year ago, and I hadn't thought of it in a while because my own life was crazy at the time. But my friend and I were discussing it recently in the "it's so much better now" and I forgot just how BAD it was for her. What I described about threatening her status in the US was just one of many ways he acted inappropriately. It wasn't just her, either, he did that to other students, more women and only those from the same country he was from. His white student he was apparently an angel to. Some of the things he'd say were rank sexism, like criticizing his female graduate students for not being married yet, or saying their incompetence was the reason they weren't married yet. A lot was culturally relevant criticisms. A lot was verbally abusive tactics; yelling, talking over students, insulting them etc... I guess his favorite thing was to ask a question, and when my friend answered and he didn't like it, he'd repeat the question louder, talking over what they were saying, getting right in their face and repeating why over and over.

My friend was shaken and scared when I moved in with her. She didn't know he wasn't allowed to do those things, because in her country of origin, he would have been. She knew it was wrong in the "this isn't how you treat people" sense, but not in the "no, this isn't allowed" sense. When we talked, I was aghast and irate. I helped her best I could just by encouraging her to speak to someone at the university that wasn't connected to her advisor. She was terrified she'd get sent home after working so hard to get into a program here. But I am only an undergrad and I didn't know much or who to talk to.

She eventually spoke with her graduate coordinator, who helped her get placed under a new advisor in the same department. Two other students ended up doing the same after she blazed that trail.

Aside from that, the advisor also really didn't do much to guide her in her pursuit of her PhD, and encouraged her to blow off her work as a TA, which she was required to do as part of her fellowship. From what I could tell based on what she told me, he basically wanted free labor, and recruited from his home country knowing he could use that and their status as international students to bully them into doing more work in an entirely unhealthy way, than other PhD students - and even though I'm ONLY an undergrad, I do know other PhD students to see that he was pushing them more than even the normal crazy PhD students have to do.

Other students have left. My friend knows at least one gave up and went to their home country after this. Another cut his pursuit short and only got his masters because of that professor. She thinks there was more before that, but doesn't know for sure.

Honestly, he sounds like an all around horrible human being. I'm probably underselling it. I just would be filled with rage and want to DO something on behalf of my roommate as she told me past and present details.

My best guess is that the university kinda looked the other way because he is a prolific publisher AND he brings in a lot of grants. Of course I don't know what all happened, but it seemed like they got the students that complained out from under this guy, and then let him continue to do his thing, getting new students from abroad in. So his only punishment was a brief gap where he had no students (3 left, one was undergrad and her assignment with him finished, the other finished his phd and moved on).

This doesn't sit well with me, but I don't know what to do about it. The idea that a professor is allowed to abuse their students like this and nothing happens is an evil I don't think should be allowed to stand. I am convinced that the fact that his students are POC and from another country is a big part of why he's allowed to do this. And that to me just makes me feel like I should do something so he can't keep abusing people.

I won't take any action without my friend's consent, but before I speak to her about that possibility, what SHOULD I/we do? Go to someone at the university? Find a journalist who reports on matters like this? Bump into this professor in the hallway and say "oh, hi Dr. [name] I heard you have a small penis" and walk away, leaving him with a confusing sense of wtf and doubt?

I do think that my friend would likely be on board, she's an independent, strong woman. But I'm not sure about the other two people. Based on what she's told me, I think they'd be a hard sell to do more. Just a hunch though.

Mefi, what do I do about this injustice?

posted by [insert clever name here] to Education (29 answers total)

A useful thing you could do is to make sure someone is quietly spreading the word to new incoming students in the relevant department.
posted by kickingtheground at 9:54 PM on March 22, 2023 [15 favorites]

You're only an undergrad? Oh, I am so sorry, oof. You are so kindhearted and I really appreciate it.

Regarding advisor abuse of graduate students -- this is systemic and very common, you're better off reading lots of other stories and contacting other current former graduate students in the university and other universities to figure out how they navigated it to figure out next steps. (I am a recently graduated grad student who decided to not pursue action against some abusers in my department because it was pretty clear to me the way my university was set up, they wouldn't consider what happened to me abuse. I was able to find support in other ways and graduate successfully, but it was really edgy for a couple of years and still very traumatic. As a note, usually professors who are abusive like that to their graduate students, are also abusive to their colleagues as well.)
posted by yueliang at 10:16 PM on March 22, 2023 [10 favorites]

I am convinced that the fact that his students are POC and from another country is a big part of why he's allowed to do this. ... She didn't know he wasn't allowed to do those things, because in her country of origin, he would have been.

Well, is he also a POC from that country? As well as a respected scholar? Because if so, demanding that he be fired for how he treats grad students in ways that might or might not be acceptable in his country also has structural overtones you don't seem to be considering in your (understandable) desire to stick up for your friend and other grad students. While it sounds appalling that he's instilling fear in his grad students by threatening their visas, other behaviors you mention like "talking over" someone who ranks below you is not considered "abusive" everywhere in the world. You don't know what kinds of exploitative b.s. the white male non-foreign professors are doing, but it is usually men of color who get in trouble for whatever goes on in situations involving power distinctions. The dept. and university obviously know his reputation. While you are well meaning, I do not think it is your place to "do" anything to go after this man other than support your friend if she wants to pursue a complaint.
posted by Tim Bucktooth at 11:24 PM on March 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

Something else to note -- are you aware of the chain of command in your university? Each university is different, but we do have some deans who are also professors that graduate students can directly report to, but I only know my university has that. There should at least be a harassment hotline to start contacting...

I just wonder about your friend though - does she want to pursue it? Does she have enough support or knowledge of resources? Is she scared? It's important to know where she is at in the process.
posted by yueliang at 12:13 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

One of the key things when working with survivors of abuse (domestic or otherwise) is to follow their lead. Abusers maintain their power by taking away the other person's agency, and survivors really really need to know that whatever they decide to do is ok.

So when I read things like
I'm meddling, I know I'm meddling and
I'm not sure about the other two people. Based on what she's told me, I think they'd be a hard sell to do more. and
I just would be filled with rage and want to DO something on behalf of my roommate as she told me past and present details., I am wondering who do you want to do this for? For your roommate? For a couple people you've never met? For future students? For your own sense of justice and "being a good person"?

When you say your roommate is probably on board because she is an independent strong woman, you're making a big value judgement, conflating independence and strength with "standing up to the man." I get it, that's a really common trope especially with movies and whatnot, but think about what that implies about people who choose not to speak out.

I see you're thinking about asking the grad students in question, so when you do, be careful to frame it as "It's also ok to just walk away, and doing so does not make you/them any less of an independent strong person."

If and only if the grad students and not only just ok with it but actively enthusiastic about pursuing further action, do it through official university channels, like the dean's office or ombuds. Most graduate schools I'm familiar with have someone like that. Do not for the love of God go straight to the media or invoke small dick energy or anything like that. That approach works in Hollywood and Twitter, considerably less well in the real world.

Lastly please consider Tim Bucktooth's point. This is depressingly common in university settings, and usually the only people who get in trouble for it are POC.
posted by basalganglia at 1:16 AM on March 23, 2023 [13 favorites]

To clarify: I agree that this behavior sounds appalling and you're clearly well meaning, but the consequences of speaking up are unlikely to be something dramatic like the professor getting fired or banned from working with grad students. What's an acceptable outcome for the grad students testifying (it often feels like testifying, even if not in a court of law).

I've seen well-intentioned student protest absolutely blow up in a way they did not intend, resulting in a year of stress for admin, faculty, and students alike. 18 months later, the only person who benefited was the big-bucks consultant hired as a fixer.
posted by basalganglia at 1:32 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

Even if nobody "wins" money or total freedom from awful people, doing and saying _something_ makes this kind of thing less normalized -- and that's extremely important.
posted by amtho at 3:03 AM on March 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

Yes, you need to respect the agency of the people involved, who may or may not want to get dragged into a lengthy investigation rather than move ahead with their lives. But if everyone is on board with doing something, some good options for reporting are: your university ethics hotline (there will be an anonymous option here), a student ombudsperson if you have one, the Title IX office, the DEI office, the grad student union if there is one.

Feel free to send the concern to more than one of these - these offices are well practiced in working together to figure out who should handle a given allegation. (Note that I wouldn’t be surprised if different parts of what you’re describing end up as different investigations, such that your roommate ends up being interviewed over and over again by different people, so that’s an outcome to be ready for.). It would be better for the concern to come from one of the people directly involved rather than you, if possible.

If one or more investigations goes ahead, she should expect it to take many months, during which she may be questioned repeatedly, potentially with a court reporter there taking a transcript. She will be asked to provide any evidence like emails or notes. She should expect, depending on the specifics of your university’s policies, that at some point in the process the professor will know that she is involved and will see the transcript of everything she said, as well as any evidence she provides, as he will have a right to see and respond to evidence against him. She is unlikely to have to see or speak to him as part of the process.

She will probably be bound by secrecy requirements such that she will not be able to talk to you or anyone else about what is happening while all of this goes on. The university should have an anti-retaliation policy such that if she feels the professor is taking any action against her, she can report it and it will be stopped.
posted by Stacey at 4:16 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

I'm not sure how these things work in the US but are there support services for international students or student/campaigning groups for international students? Perhaps it might be worth approaching one of those groups with your friend if she thinks that's a good idea? And yes it's probably true that poc faculty are held up to more scrutiny than white faculty but it's students of colour who are directly being harmed here and particularly vulnerable because of their immigration status so perhaps the focus should be on that, finding ways to make it harder for these kinds of power imbalances to happen, make it easier for international students to get support or have more clear processes in place for situations like this?
posted by mosswinter at 4:16 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Abuse of grad students is like speeding — in some sense it isn’t really against the rules, in that it’s pretty rare for it to result in any worse outcome for the perpetrator than gossip. Like on paper you aren’t supposed to do this but enforcement is quite unusual. I promise, none of this professor’s colleagues are in the dark, the Dean probably already knows too, this type of thing may be part of why there was a structure in place already to find your roommate a new advisor. The way the culture generally handles this is the whisper network. When I was a PhD student, during recruiting weekend there used to be a student-only party, the purpose of which was to give space for us to warn any prospective students who needed warning. I actually didn’t know of any truly abusive people in my department so it was more like "this person’s students aren’t that happy." But that’s useful too. Every grad school whose visiting weekend I attended on application had such a students only party. One of my lab mates in grad school picked the school we went to because they’d been warned off of someone they’d wanted to work with more at another institution at this type of party. It’s not surprising, in that context, if young people living across an ocean at the time of recruiting weekend are at a disadvantage.

Here is one case in which pursuit of justice eventually worked. Feel free to pull on that thread and see if you learn anything you can apply here. I do suspect, though, that anything you attempt through formal channels, as someone not directly involved, is going to land at “you don’t have standing to complain.”
posted by eirias at 4:25 AM on March 23, 2023 [6 favorites]

Support your friend- they just switched advisors and are catching up on PhD work. I’d push back that you don’t know that nothing happened-having 3 advisees switching is a large red flag, and a clue that the department has to at least deal with his fallout.

Your friend is in a better place with a new advisor. If you meddle beyond what you know second hand, AND this guy has been addressed (even if you want him fired and strongly disagree with anything less than that) HE can claim retaliation.

What can you do to support people actually doing better and moving on with that? Your roommate is doing better-that is great! She’s influenced 2 others to shift, even better! You don’t know what happened to the guy, who, along with the department, if a media frenzy gets kicked up, will not suspect you, but might make others vulnerable. How would you feel if any of these people dropped out of their already-stressful PhD programs? If you have concerns, report what you actually know via the university’s internal process - whether it’s ethics or equity, and let the people who are trained and paid to address the matter actually do that.
posted by childofTethys at 4:40 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

Forget the uni admin and the media. Since guy is recruiting students from his home country, it seems like you/your roommate/a like-minded cohort can meet with these students when they arrive on campus and explain the process of switching advisors if they find working with him onerous. They might not know it’s an option. What happens if all his grad student’s continually opt to transfer out?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:16 AM on March 23, 2023 [6 favorites]

Given how my university works I am betting that the department absolutely knows what's going on. They're protecting the dude for a few reasons:

1. His research brings in grants and makes them look good
2. He is likely involved in recruiting students from him country, which both makes them look good and brings in money (international students are more likely to be paying full tuition)
3. There is a culture of supporting faculty, plus attempting to hold him accountable would be difficult and make their department look bad
4. Some may believe he is giving his students opportunities they would not otherwise have and view his behavior as culturally appropriate

The odds that you could help him suffer any actual consequences are extremely low. It's infuriating but there it is.
posted by metasarah at 5:20 AM on March 23, 2023 [14 favorites]

+1 that the department and administration already know. They may have done something behind the scenes, such as talked to the professor, perhaps informally. I agree that that's not enough, but the people in charge think it is. By pushing through official channels, you (or really your friend, since she's the one with the relevant evidence) may get more done, but also annoy the people in charge, in part because the formal process may involve lots of paperwork or time from them.

This matters for your friend's future job prospects. Formally, some of these people may be on her committee, and while they won't mention this explicitly, it could lead to a less than glowing letter of recommendation. Informally, academics gossip and if word of this spreads, some places may be less likely to hire her if they think she's someone who stirs up trouble.

Again, it shouldn't be like this and there will likely be some faculty who are sympathetic. But the risk is real and there are structural reasons why no one has pursued a complaint before. Having switched advisers, your friend has nothing to gain and potentially a lot to lose.

If your friend does decide to go through with this, one approach is to feel out a faculty member or two, such as her advisor. Someone who already has tenure and is respected by the rest of the faculty. If they're shocked by this and supportive of your friends pursuing a more formal complaint, that's a good sign that the department as a whole will react reasonably (or at least that she'll have influential allies, hopefully speaking up for her internally) and so the consequences may not be too bad for your friend. If their reaction is anything less than enthusiastic support (a lukewarm, "do it if that's what you think you should do" doesn't count), I would really hesitate to take this further if I were your friend
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 7:30 AM on March 23, 2023 [6 favorites]

I'm surprised by most of the above responses. I would encourage you to contact media whilst maintaining and protecting your roommate's anonymity and the other targeted students' anonymity. This includes identifying circumstances and other details.

I agree that being supportive to your roommate friend is important, and that you absolutely shouldn't be pushy about making any of the victims feel obligated to participate. Your friend and the other targeted students can decide if she wants/they want to speak directly with any media as well, anonymously or not.

I've been through undergrad and grad programs and I have struggled against the monolith of university 'reporting'. I think it's the runaround. And it's fucked up. And nothing changes until we make it. We start it by speaking up.
posted by leemleem at 8:42 AM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

Going after a person in power in an academic setting is a life altering experience. It can be a career ending experience. Your friend and the other students should only do this if they feel the calling and are willing to have their life be about that thing for a period of time. There could be major sacrifices and trauma. You can be supportive, but don’t push them to do something they don’t want want to do. Be happy that your friend got out from under his shadow.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 9:22 AM on March 23, 2023 [7 favorites]

The odds of anything bad happening to this guy are extremely low. The odds of anything bad happening to your roommate or anyone who goes up against him are extraordinarily high. Like "career-ending" level of high.

You might report it and try to leave your roommate out of it, but I strongly suspect it could easily be traced back to her saying something to you, and then she's just as in trouble as if she spoke up herself. Plus she's international and vulnerable.

At the very least, I don't think it's safe to pursue until she's 100% graduated and gone from the university, possibly same going for anyone else who had the same problem. I can't even speak for possible career repercussions after she leaves, though.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:00 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Does your university have an omsbud? This is an office / person you can talk to confidentially and get advice on how to handle situations like this. If you're in the US, you should also have a Title Nine coordinator you can talk to about this as a hypothetical, or ask about what they're mandated to report. These folks will be embedded in the university culture and probably have suggestions about what you can do and what kind of response you can expect. It's very unlikely this will be a big public reprimand.

I'd also consider that possibly the abusive PI got a visit from university admin and mandated training and is behaving better now he's been told the abuse was unacceptable. You and his former students might not know the details because it's an employee disciplinary matter. Do you know if he's still abusing students? Did the graduate coordinator kick this up the chain of command or just quietly move the students?

It sounds like there is no way you can reasonably protect your roommate's anonymity, since it sounds like she shares a home country with the PI and that would give it away. I would consider going to the media with her story a breach of her trust, especially while she's still at the university.
posted by momus_window at 12:23 PM on March 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

So frickin' what if "the odds of..." are low?!?! They _stay_ low if people don't do anything because it's "not their business".

Over and over, before MeToo, before anti-racism, before Pride, before bathrooms were required in buildings so that women could be out in public safely, before the ADA, before food safety regulations, these same kinds of sentiments pulled progress back in a steady, heavy way that meant years of additional suffering: "The department knows... people are warned at a party that, oh well, some people can't attend... this could backfire on you... this could backfire on others (at least one of whom, by the way, the OP said they would consult first)... in some sense it isn’t really against the rules, in that it’s pretty rare for it to result in any worse outcome...you're clearly well meaning, but the consequences of speaking up are unlikely to..."


Do you think all the change that's happened in the culture recently _hasn't_ had this degree of difficulty, risk, and "that's just how it is" downward drag?

People who are willing to do something positive aren't that rare, really -- nearly every single person has a very keen sense of fairness. It's so universal, it's been measured in dogs and apes. What makes it seem rare is how easy, how common it is to see and remember only the bad actions, the bad outcomes from a minority of people who have already given up, so they focus only on helping themselves, because they are so overwhelmed with this belief that nobody cares.

Echoing only this perspective isn't just a minor problem; it's the whole problem.

Maybe you're imagining some naive do-gooder marching up to someone in authority and endangering the reputation of some vulnerable, young, visiting 23-year-old with their halo of shallow outrage. Fine -- that would be a problem!

However, the person who is asking this question, here, today, isn't remotely going to do that. This person is smart, considered, compassionate, hopeful, and very open to doing something better, more subtle, more creative, more sensitive.

Help them. Help them think creatively, help them understand more about the potential nuances of "the system" in academia -- which I'm sure has many other people who also want to improve things, but who also feel small in the face of "the system". They might feel alone; they might be waiting for just one more person to become an ally, or just one more report to justify a budget item, or just one more piece of evidence that, no, treating powerless people like servants is really not OK.
posted by amtho at 12:30 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

I agree with everyone saying this has to be their choice, and that the odds of anything changing are low. If you have any sort of documentation (i.e. threatening e-mails) then you may have a better chance of them having restricted access to PhD students - I do know of some examples of grad students who were successfully able to petition to get a faculty member banned from taking on new students - though they could still teach grad student courses/get TAs. But you'll need hard evidence to achieve that - if all of these threats and bad behavior were verbal, that will be much, much, harder to prove.

Some things to consider:

-Are the grad students unionized? Sometimes the unions will help grad students navigate what their rights are - and you can consult with their lawyer and learn what your options are.

-Some universities with law schools have free basic legal services for grad students.

-At minimum, your friend could go to whoever her DGS is (Director of Graduate Studies - different school use slightly different names) and file a basic report, that usually can be anonymous, saying "I had to leave this advisor, it was abusive." If her goal isn't any punishment, these can be kept private - it basically just leaves a paper trail, so that way should anyone want to come forward in the future, this will be helpful. Of course, you'd want to confirm with the DGS beforehand that this is true - this is how it worked in my grad program, but I'm sure these things vary from place to place.

-At accepted student visiting weekends, people should make a point to discretely warn students who have been accepted to work under this professor.

-Your friend may reasonably decide to wait to go public after she has graduated, and secured employment. Professors have real power over grad students' future careers, but this decreases a bit once one gets a job.
posted by coffeecat at 12:48 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

This is harm reduction, amtho. The only person who will be set on fire is the OP’s roommate. Both the initial post and actually several of the responses in this thread strike me as naive in a way that is likely to be damaging (the Title IX office is not there to protect students, it is there to protect the university). I would not particularly object to the OP setting themself on fire in pursuit of justice, but setting the roommate on fire is, I think, a choice they would come to regret.

When I say that the whisper network is how it is done at present — that is not an endorsement. These are the facts on the ground. Are they bad facts, definitely, for a host of reasons including the one you point out about exclusion, but also potentially including legal liability for those who whisper. The OP is not a grad student and probably did not know that this exists.

I was involved in one of these formal processes once btw, a long time ago. I was not the primary victim but I was impacted. When the investigators came knocking, I was honest in sharing my perspective. The process went really far actually. The investigator seemed fair. The person is still around. Maybe they’ve improved, I don’t know. I’m not vulnerable anymore so I’m not in a position to know.

I do think reading a case that went all the way might provide helpful grounding, which is why I shared that too. It is worth pointing out that the reason this particular case got legs seems from a cursory read to be “white male victim commits suicide.” This is obviously not something one can or should engineer.
posted by eirias at 12:53 PM on March 23, 2023 [7 favorites]

Nobody has to set anybody on fire to make a difference. Making a difference can be small, it can be additive over time, it can be intelligent.
posted by amtho at 1:10 PM on March 23, 2023

No one is even recommending pursuing a formal procedure.

"I don't know what to do" leaves the field wide, wide open.
posted by amtho at 1:11 PM on March 23, 2023

Just noting that if what your roommate decides she want is to have a record on file somewhere but not to begin an investigation process, she needs to lead with that and be very clear about it before she provides any details about who is involved and what happened.

I handle a different kind of allegation than the one here, but I suspect what’s true for me is true for some other kinds of university investigations- past a certain point, I *do not have* the ability to use my own discretion to decide whether to pursue a case. If what I am being told seems to potentially qualify as a certain type of misconduct, and if I have been given sufficient identifying details of the people involved, I am required to open an investigation. So sometimes I have to have some very careful “let’s hypothetically say that this happened” conversations with students who aren’t sure how they want to proceed. Which is completely fine, but I worry a lot about whether someday I won’t get ahead of that fast enough and end up having to initiate an investigation the victim of bad behavior doesn’t want. It’s a delicate area where it’s worth being really careful to understand the relevant processes and where the points of no return are.
posted by Stacey at 1:23 PM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

Do you have a semi independent student newspaper, or even website that people actually go to for news?
If so, go to the student newspaper offices and straight up gossip with the folks who run it.

Particularly mention the people who can't be harmed by this any further, because they reached rock bottom already and have dropped out or returned to their home country.

Maybe nothing will happen, maybe the newspaper will make a series of injokes about the terribleness of that professor while maintaining plausible deniability, or maybe a reporter will take up the baton and interview a bunch of people who have been negatively affected.

The university is far more likely to see the negatives of doing 'nothing' with this professor if they get negative publicity, even on a small scale.
posted by Elysum at 1:53 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

[insert clever name here], I see how caring and protective you are, and I appreciate that. I also see a strong similarity between your last question and this one.

I agree with the folks above who encourage you to talk with your friend and the other affected students before taking any action. Based on the combination of your previous question and this one, I also recommend that you spend some time digging around in your motivations. You seem to have a strong value for helping international students. Regardless of what you choose to do in this case, would it help *you* to find a structured way to offer your help in service of this value? Volunteering for the international student office, for example, to offer the kind of orientation you worry your friends/roommates haven’t received?
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:36 PM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yes, contact the ombudsman.

The ombudsman spent 6 hours total explaining to me in detail what would happen if I went through every avenue of reporting, and this is me detailing my full story. I was grateful, because it made me realize how I was not ready for a year of formal investigations which would have taken away my ability to take care of my health and my research, and my ability to graduate was not being currently impacted by these abusers. Admins and staff will explain how the university deals with it -- it will not be necessarily how (I) want it to be dealt with, but there are policies and procedures that are outlined. Do I agree with this? Also no. Do I wish the outcome was different? Yes. Did I make the best choice knowing all the details of my situation? Yes.

OP can find out there to be a whistleblower hotline, but OP, I think you should try any of these avenues first and ask for advice and see what the system feels like for you, and you'll understand how hard and tough they make these systems to navigate on purpose. Going to the media maybe could make sense if you can find reporters and editors who will work with you, but I have no advice m. But OP, you really need to try for yourself and talk to people first -- if you ever want to graduate school, you will also be in this system too.
posted by yueliang at 7:07 PM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

International students also specifically do not have several rights that universities fail to address all the time -- this could be a more useful media report if you can find a pitch or an angle, or if other international students would be willing to talk about it. In so many ways, it is so skewed against them in power, but US universities paradoxically rely on a toxic culture of forcing people to "self advocate."

Your other best option, in addition to the other careful ones i mentioned above, is to talk to multiple international students figure out alternative ways of building power and support and see what they already have been doing so far, and learning how to organize (with international students at the center) to ask for different changes and understandings. Learning how to navigate the student affairs and international students rights minefield is a valuable goal, but one needs to look at this through the lens of student organizing in a hostile university. (Yes, I also was an undergrad student organizer who was a graduate student, so I know what I'm talking about...)

Do not take this work lightly. Find other experienced people to talk to as well, and find other international graduate students, but do not use your friend's story or situation without her consent at any time, a savior complex is horrible for many reasons. Universities do this on purpose and also unintentionally because they are neoliberal businesses acting as educational institutions, and the politics that come with it are fraught and obfuscating. Good luck.
posted by yueliang at 7:16 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I asked this question because recently she brought it up when talking about her frustrations with playing catch up in her current lab and I don't think either of us had talked about it in a while, but seeing how upset just talking about it made her made me want to do something so said professor couldn't do anything like that to anyone else.

I think, based on what I've read here and know of the situation, I'm going to wait until it comes up again, or summer (she won't be quite as in the weeds), and ask her if she wants to do anything, give her an overview of the options and concerns in this thread, and if she thinks she wants to do something, let her read this, supporting her with whatever she wants to do, even if that is nothing.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 2:50 PM on March 31, 2023 [2 favorites]